Kids Books to Keep Forever

The list this week comes from Mamamia recently. They had a podcast discussion of the toys and books that we should keep instead of throwing away. I love that they viewed it as an anti KonMari moment- I've just read the book and am working on my review. I did wonder about this sort of thing along the way, if you throw everything out what is left for the next generation?

Koala Lou - Mem Fox, Pamela Lofts (illustrator)

Possum Magic - Mem Fox, Julie Vivas (illustrator)

The BFG - Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator)

The Poky Little Puppy - Janette Sebring Lowrey, Gustaf Tenggren (illustrator)

There's A Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake - Hazel Edwards, Deborah Niland (illustrator)

The Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith Kerr

The Witches - Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator) (see my review)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle

The Complete Adventures Of Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie - May Gibbs

8/9

My best list result ever! I became rather excited when clicking through the list gallery on the website. Would I actually have read all the books? Tension built as each title came up, until the very last. I have seen a play of Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie and possibly read it as a child, or had it read to me, but I don't remember so it doesn't count. 

The BFG is one of my favourite Dahl's, and one of my favourite books ever. 

Lauren Child's 14 Favourite Children's Books

Lauren Child knows a thing or two about how to write Children's books. She is the megabestselling author of the Charlie and Lola picture books and the Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort books. So I think she should have some excellent favourite books.

Cockatoos - Quentin Blake

The Shrinking of Treehorn - Florence Parry Heide

Grimble - Clement Freud

Eloise at the Plaza - Kay Thompson 

John Patrick Norman McHennessy: The  Boy Who Was Always Late - John Burningham

Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren (see my review)

Marshall Armstrong is New To Our School - David Mackintosh (see my review)

Mythological Monsters - Sara Fanelli

Whistle for Willie - Ezra Jack Keats

What Pete Ate: From A-Z - Maira Kalman

The Eighteenth Emergency - Betsy Byars

Emily Brown and the Thing - Cressida Cowell

The Tiger Who Came To Tea - Judith Kerr

Melrose and Croc - Emma Chichester Clark

4/14

Such an intriguing list, even if it is from 2014. So many books (and authors) that I've never heard of, let alone never read. Sadly my library only has one of these titles (Melrose and Croc) so it won't be an easy thing to read this list. 

International Children's Laureates

Children's Laureates are a growing trend around the world. As far as I'm aware the UK kicked it all off back in 1999 after an idea from Michael Morpurgo and Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Quentin Blake became then became the first Children's Laureate. They have had a trail of illustrious names ever since.

Anne Fine
Michael Morpurgo
Jaqueline Wilson
Michael Rosen
Anthony Browne
Julia Donaldson

Most recently Malorie Blackman took up the post of the 2013-2015 Waterstones Children's Laureate. Malorie is best known for writing for teenagers, while many of the previous laureates write for younger children predominantly, or write for all ages of children. Malorie is looking to champion diversity and inclusiveness through YA lit and she is curating a YA Lit Convention at the London Film and Comic Con in July 2014. There was a recent fascinating BBC Radio program, Open Book, featuring three Laureates- Malorie Blackman, Jaqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen about why we need a Children's Laureate, and how even children's literature can be political "because it is ignored".

Just recently the Americans announced their next Ambassador of Young People's Literature for 2014-2015- Kate Di Camillo. The Library of Congress have been awarding Ambassadors since 2008. The Americans have had three previous Ambassadors.

Jon Scieszka
Katherine Paterson
Walter Dean Myers

Ireland set up their Children's Laureate Project in 2010. They have had two Laureates na n'OG so far-  Siobhan Parkinson and Niamh Sharkey, and will shortly select their third. The Irish have the most inclusive selection process whereby 111 nominating bodies are asked to make nominations (up to two authors and two illustrators), and individual people can also nominate- the final decision is of course by their committee.

Australia has been a bit late coming to the Children's Laureate party. Our inaugural joint Laureates- Alison Lester and Monty Boori Prior have just finished their two year term, and Jackie French has taken up the reins this month.

Canada doesn't seem to have a Children's Laureate, but they have plenty of bloggers looking to stir the pot. New Zealand doesn't have a Children's Laureate either, although they have a Facebook group looking to create change. Let's hope they get one soon.

There's not a whole lot of information about Laureates beyond the English speaking world. Sweden (of course it's the Swedes) recently created a Reading Ambassador for Young People. Their first Ambassador was Johan Unenge, and their current Ambassador for 2013-2015 is Johanna Lindback. Sadly I can't really find much about either of them in English, and their books don't appear to be available in English either.

I do look forward to the contributions that all these Laureates (all of whom are women at the moment!) make to the world of children's literature, and I certainly look forward to reading more of their own books too.

Pigeon of Paris

When I saw this book on my recent foray to the Bathurst Lifeline Book Fair I nearly snapped my wrist grabbing at it. Paris. Birds (if only pigeons). Quentin Blake. And all for 50 cents? No brainer. It was mine. No matter that I hadn't heard of it before, I had to buy it, then and there, and then I had to read it rather soon.

Pigeon of Paris is the rather touching story of Evangeline, a spinster pigeon living on Notre Dame. Evangeline is lonely, and looking for a mate, but she runs foul of the pigeon-hating Chief of Police.

'There are too many pigeons in Paris,' he said to the policeman. 'They defile the statues and clutter the parks. There must be a thousand pigeons roosing on Notre Dame alone.'

Even in 1960 pigeons must have been a problem in Paris. I certainly noticed pigeons on my trip to Paris in 2010. Paris is like many cities around the world that have tried to curb their growing pigeon populations.

Franglais anyone?

The story here though was a secondary pleasure for me. I loved this book. It was quaint, by an author new to me, and I learnt so much!

One blustery spring morning, a storm blew in from the west. It blew across the city of Paris, rattling the chimney pots and swaying the Eiffel tower the five inches it may move without falling over. 

I hadn't heard that before. But it seems it's true. Amazing to learn that she grows by up to six inches in summer as the metal heats up.

Pigeons drink in a sucking way, unlike that of other birds who must lift their heads with every few drops.

Unmarried women of 25 years were called Catherinettes in France, after Saint Catherine.

I was briefly hopeful that this would be one of Quentin Blake's earliest books. It's not really. He illustrated his first children's book in 1960. Still it's fascinating to see some of his early work.

Natalie Savage Carlson was an American author who lived in Paris for many years. It seems quite a number of her stories were set in Paris. She was nominated for the Hans Christian Anderson Award, and what seems to be her most famous book, The Family Under the Bridge, was a Newbery Honor book in 1959. Yes, that sound is my TBR growing yet again.

Dreaming of France is a wonderful Monday meme
from Paulita at An Accidental Blog

Books on France, a great 2013 challenge
 from Emma at Words and Peace

The Boy in the Dress

I'd been meaning to read David Walliams ever since I saw that he had published a book back in 2008. I'd even bought this book and had it sitting on my bookshelves, waiting. Now he has published five books, with a sixth to be released this month.

Recently I read this article proclaiming David Walliams as the new Roald Dahl which pushed me over the edge and so I packed The Boy in the Dress in my bag on my recent trip to New Zealand. I was reading Lord of the Flies at the same time, but sometimes when you travel you need something lighter, and The Boy in the Dress was perfect travel fare, and a perfect antidote to Lord of the Flies.

I really enjoyed this gentle, yet funny tale of twelve year old Dennis Sims, living with his depressed, truck driver dad and his older brother.

"I've gotta go boys. I've gotta drive a load of bog rolls to Bradford."

Of course it had to be funny and quirky. Walliams initially came to international attention for his TV comedy show, Little Britain. I was slow to warm to Little Britain, but did end up loving it. There were some truly wonderful characters and moments.

Walliams uses gentle, beautiful British humour to tell this unusual story of a regular soccer playing lad, who feels he is different and likes to read Vogue. It is often laugh out loud funny. Dennis' school teachers are somewhat like those in Dahl's Matilda, but display nowhere near the malevolence of Trunchbull. There are many British references that aren't too distant for an Australian to comprehend- Neighbours, Trisha, soccer and Hob Nobs, and marvellous British words like unutterably, offy and innit.

The thrill of possessing the ball made Dennis forget his cold for a moment, and he weaved his way through the defence and approached the goal-keeper, a luxuriant-haired boy sporting a brand new kit, who was probably called Oscar or Tobias or something.

The comparisons between Walliams and Dahl are perhaps obvious, and certainly having his first two books illustrated by Quentin Blake- who famously illustrated many of Dahl's books- makes this link even more obvious. Walliams openly acknowledges his debt to Dahl, and also the genius of Dahl- he made a fascinating documentary about Dahl sensibly titled The Genius of Dahl (happily all three parts are on youtube, watch them all, it's incredible)- which draws great links between Dahl's early learning of Norwegian fairy tales and the stories he would come to write. It's an amazing video- full of delicious details of his life- he wrote in the morning, and would bet on the horses of an afternoon. I also didn't know Dahl wrote the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and invented the Childcatcher that wasn't in the book- but it does make sense when you know. Even more incredibly, Roald Dahl was part of a team who developed a cerebral shunt.

Perhaps David Walliams is a natural successor to Roald Dahl, even if he's not I certainly look forward to reading more from both of them.

A Christmas Carol Read Along

What perfect timing. I was planning to read A Christmas Carol this year anyway.  I've been wanting to read it for a few years now. I did start a library copy a few years ago. Got stuck, had to take it back unfinished. Over the past few years I think I've seen every movie version of A Christmas Carol with my son- high budget modern spectaculars, low budget oldies, muppet versions and not. But this is the year I'm actually going to read it.

I've already scheduled it as our Christmas read for 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. I've bought my own copy, so I can't give up. And it's a nice one. Large format, fake leather bound, illustrations by Quentin Blake- who I adore. I have to finish it. And now there's a blog read along at the exact same time. Too much synchronicity to ignore. I will be reading it. Oh yes. And then I won't have to hang my head in shame any longer at never having finished a Dickens. Sure it will be his shortest published work, but I will still have Read A Dickens. Although I do often toy with the notion that half reading Bleak House twice may actually count as Read A Dickens.